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WINDY CITY CONTINUES WINNING STREAK

By Windy City Bulls Staff /January 6, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE           

Saturday, January 5, 2019

WINDY CITY CONTINUES WINNING STREAK

BEAT STOCKTON 123-114 FOR EIGHTH STRAIGHT VICTORY

The Windy City Bulls, presented by BMO Harris Bank, the NBA G League affiliate of the Chicago Bulls, extended their franchise record winning streak to eight games with a 123-114 victory over the Stockton Kings on Saturday night at the Sears Centre Arena.

Three Bulls players scored 20 or more points led by Walt Lemon Jr. who totaled a team-high 25 points to go along with six rebounds and nine assists. Ferrakohn Hall recorded the second 20-point game of his career and scored 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting, while CJ Fair tallied 22 points, nine rebounds, two assists and a season-high four steals. Brandon Sampson had 15 points and three rebounds and Rawle Alkins added 11 points and 10 rebounds in a reserve role. Thomas Wilder pitched in with 10 points of his own.

Stockton was without the services of Marcus Williams, who leads the league in assists per game. Troy Williams led all players with 28 points and added six rebounds. Kalin Lucas posted a stat line of 22 points, four rebounds, eight assists and two steals, while Two-Way player, Wenyen Gabriel scored 17 points. Reggie Hearn totaled 14 points and eight rebounds and Cameron Reynolds had 13 points and nine rebounds.

Windy City’s offense was in sync early as they made four of their first six shots and jumped out to 10-4 lead which forced a Stockton timeout at the 8:17 mark. Hall accounted for the first five points and led all scorers with 19 points in the period. Following the stoppage, the Kings tied the game at 10, but the Bulls responded with 10 consecutive points of their own and grabbed their first double-digit lead of the night. Stockton worked their way back and made it a one possession game on a couple occasions but were never able to take the lead. In total, Windy City shot 56 percent and thanks to a late three-pointer by Hall, the Bulls led 31-26 at the end of the opening 12 minutes.

The Kings opened the second quarter by scoring the first five points to tie the game at 31, which led to an early Windy City timeout with 9:51 remaining in the half. The deadlock didn’t last long as Thomas Wilder nailed a three to give the Bulls the once more. The nip-and-tuck second quarter featured one lead change but four ties. With 1:52 left to play in the half, the Kings tied the game by splitting a pair of free throws and eventually took the lead on a three-pointer by Gabe Vincent with under five ticks on clock. On the final possession of the half, Lemon Jr. beat the buzzer and tied the game on a three-pointer of his own. Stockton outscored the Bulls by five, resulting in a 53-53 game at the intermission.

Stockton scored the first two points of the second half and briefly took at two-point lead. Windy City posted seven of the next nine points and led 60-55. After scoring two points in the first half, Sampson led all scorers with 10 points in the third quarter. The Bulls went on to lead by nine and eventually regained a double-digit advantage. The Kings promptly answered back with a 9-2 spurt to make it 75-71 game, but that’s as close as they would get for the remainder of the contest. Windy City closed the period on a 15-7 run and led 90-78 heading into the final 12 minutes.

Windy City entered Saturday’s contest with an 11-1 record when heading into the fourth quarter with the lead. The period began with a flurry as the Bulls took a 20-point lead on 10 consecutive points by Lemon Jr. and Gates. However, Stockton didn’t go away as they poured in five three-pointers in a five-minute span to slice the lead to eight with 4:12 to play. The Kings cut the lead to seven, but never drew closer. The Bulls made eight free throws down the stretch and sealed a 123-114 win.

With the victory, Windy City is now over the .500 mark for the first time since Nov. 2. The Bulls improve to 7-1 in back-to-back scenarios this season and are a half game up on Fort Wayne in the central division.

Windy City will enjoy five days off before hosting the Wisconsin Herd on Jan. 11 in the first game of a back-to-back. Tip-off is set for 7:00pm CT at Sears Centre Arena.

Fans can stay up-to-date on team news by following the team on Twitter (@WindyCityBulls) or visiting (WindyCityBulls.com). Full season membership, group, and single tickets for the 2018-19 Windy City Bulls season are on sale now. For all ticket information and full season schedule, visit WindyCityBulls.com.

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